Activities & Lessons

Materials and lessons for teaching leadership at the high school and middle level have become more numerous in recent years as leadership teachers have found each other at various conferences and have been willing to share their lessons. The following collection of lessons includes links to lessons we have found online, as well as some that have been accumulated over the past two decades from attending conferences. It's a constantly growing collection, so check back from time to time. Attribution is included where it is known -- people don't always put their identification on handouts at conferences! -- and many thanks are extended to those who have been willing to share.

Using Music in Leadership Class

There are lots of great ways to use music in leadership class. Check out these assignments:

Personal Soundtrack

This great lesson from Bill Battaglia asks students to imagine their life was being made into a movie and create the soundtrack to that movie. They must come up with 10-12 songs that will become their personal soundtrack.

This lesson from veteran leadership class teacher Karen Dawson (Washington, MO) asks students to find a song with a leadership message and relate it to themselves. This song form accompanies the lesson.

Songs of Leadership
Students evaluate aspects of leadership that are important to them and practice presenting something in front of a group in a creative manner in this lesson from Leadership to Go.

Sample Songs

My good friend Lori Kiblinger from Kansas sent me some great songs for leadership class. Here are 20 of them (for now) with more to come. Please consider sending us your own favorites, as well as any lesson plans you use that incorporate music.